Oregon imam under FBI scrutiny

Sheik Mohamed Kariye gave funds to men trying to fight for the Taliban, U.S. agents say

Religion News Service

Published 8:16 pm, Friday, June 15, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. — On an April afternoon, hundreds of worshippers spilled into a parking lot, exchanging hugs and handshakes after the weekly sermon. The man who has guided the congregation for more than a decade greeted the faithful.

The scene could be from any Sunday in America. Except this one was on a Friday at At Masjed As-Saber. There's another distinction.

In the past two years, the FBI has placed at least five men with affiliations to Oregon's largest mosque, including its Somalian-born religious leader, on the nation's no-fly list, a roster of suspected terrorists barred from flying in the United States. None has been charged with a terrorism-related offense.

The FBI's top official in Portland said the agency doesn't go after people based on their religion, ethnicity or where they pray, but he wouldn't comment about any of the local men detained by the FBI.

Mosques across the country are under close watch by local and federal authorities. In New York, police have conducted widespread surveillance of Muslim communities, even recording license plates of cars at mosques.

In Oregon, Masjed As-Saber stands out for its traditional focus and charismatic imam, who urges worshippers to stay true to strict Islamic teachings. The imam Sheikh Mohamed Kariye has been at the center of an FBI investigation. The Sunni mosque, whose name means "patience," opened in its present location in 1998 and serves as many as 500 people at peak times.

Kariye came to Portland in 1982 and has been a U.S. citizen since 1998. In 2002, authorities arrested him at Portland's airport as he and his family prepared to fly to Dubai. He was charged with Social Security fraud.

A federal prosecutor successfully argued to hold Kariye without bail, saying a customs official at the airport found traces of TNT on his bags. Tests concluded the initial findings were wrong. Kariye pleaded guilty to understating his income to qualify for Oregon Health Plan benefits and using a Social Security card with a false birth date. He paid $6,000 in fines.

In 2003, agents said they believed Kariye financially supported a group of Muslims — known as the Portland Seven — who tried to reach Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban in 2001. Most had prayed at Masjed As-Saber and were turned in by an FBI informant who recorded hours of conversations at the mosque. Kariye was never charged. The FBI affidavit stated the informant failed to record a key conversation that allegedly described the imam's support.